Strings Of Fate Across Time
by Maven Of Tales
Summary: A young woman who lived a fairly average life in Tokyo, Japan is whisked away to the Feudal era due to a ritual performed by demons. There she embarks on a journey to discover who she is, making friends along the way and battling enemies who are out for her blood.
1. Chapter 1: Blood Debt

((_Author's Note:_ I do not own any of the character's from _InuYasha_! I only own my own my OC's!

**Rated M for language, violence, adult situations, etc. etc.**

Also I want to give a huge thanks to Maria (LordOfTheWest), one of my greatest friends, for motivating me and giving me inspiration for this story! You are really one of the greatest friends anyone could hope for!))

* * *

_Chapter 1: Blood Debt_

* * *

Feudal era, Japan, a time where demons ruled and were a dominate power not only in Japan but in just about every part of the world as well. A brief time of peace had lulled over with the destruction of the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that would grant the holder of the jewel their wish. It could be used for good or evil, though had only caused pain and sorrow during its existence. Kagome, the reincarnation of a powerful priestess who was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, had traveled from the modern era to the Feudal era 500 years in the past through the Bone-Eaters well. There she had come across Inuyasha, a half-demon whom had been sealed to a tree for fifty years by Kikyo, the priestess whom Kagome was the reincarnation of.

After a series of events, Kagome had released Inuyasha from being sealed to the sacred tree and accidently shattered the Shikon no Tama; thus started the journey for Inuyasha and Kagome to find all the shards of the jewel. Along the way they encountered Shippo, Miroku and Sango whom they became friends with and traveled with in the hunt for the jewel shards. Everyone in the group shared the same common goal, putting an end to Naraku who had caused them all grief to some degree. They had also found an unlikely ally in Sesshomaru, Lord of the West, the pure-blood dog demon whom was the elder half-brother to Inuyasha. With the combined efforts the group of friends and their allies they defeated Naraku and the Shikon no Tama. Kagome had briefly returned to her own time, before being able to return to the Feudal era where she was able to live with Inuyasha, the man she loved. But while the threat of the Shikon no Tama and Naraku were gone, there were other threats that brewed.

Back in modern times, demons were simply myths to many, if that. Most didn't even give it a single thought; though demons were indeed very real, and lived among the humans disguised and acting as humans. The demons of the modern era had learned to adapt to the world around them, in order to survive in this world they came up with a way to make their demon blood dormant until a time it could be put to good use. Lower class demons and most of the higher class ones are born in to the world and live their whole lives thinking they are humans without knowing their true heritage. Clans of pure blood demons played the part of rich noble families, and in their tight-knit society managed to keep their pure blood without the need of incest. The heiress and daughter to the head of one of the more powerful of the clans, was among these cunning and powerful demons. But unlike the rest she was not aware of the power that was in slumber in her very blood and of the raw potential she carried, that was the envy of most average and lower classed demons.

The young woman was twenty-one years old, only just starting out her adulthood. Her skin was a creamy porcelain color, smooth and free of pricings or tattoos; while her hair was a deep abyssal black which went a few inches passed her shoulders in the front and was cut at an angle getting shorter in the back, stopping just above her shoulders blades. Her eyes were stunning, to say the least; the right eye was a bright ocean blue, while her left was a rich jade green. The piercing colors seemed to be able to stare right to the core of someone's soul, while at the same time were doorways to her own soul. She was average height of a girl, standing in at five foot and five inches with a fairly slender frame that was comprised of lean muscle due to her running; though her body held just the right amount of curve in her body to balance everything out.

One would never pin-point her as anything unique, she was fairly average and there were a great deal of women who had many things she lacked. She didn't wear make-up or focus much on how to dress herself. Rika, Rika Tagachi, was the name of the girl whom was of a powerful heritage she knew nothing about; a heritage that dated back hundreds, maybe even thousands of years.

Rika walked the sidewalks of Tokyo, Japan, doing window shopping to entertain herself for the day. She was never close with her family, so found herself more often times than not being out and about and keeping herself busy. Her family was always very withdrawn and fairly emotionless, compared to her, considering she was always vocal and such about her feelings and thoughts. For some reason her mother frowned upon such a thing, calling it un-lady like among other reasons she could never understand. Her father was just as cryptic in how he acted, though unlike her strict mother, he was a bit more leaned back and calm.

A soft sigh passed her lips as she walked, today was a rather simple day. It was days like this she had wished there was more to life than just escaping to go window shopping. She no longer attended school and all of her friends attended university now. She herself could go if she wanted to, but she felt it was a waste of money and wanted to find her purpose before paying for a paper that said she was good at what she did. She stared at her reflection in one of the windows taking in what she was wearing; a maroon zip jacket, dark gray tank top, washed out jeans that rips in the knees, a simple black belt and black converse sneakers that the bottoms of her jeans fell over. No one would guess she was the daughter to some rich family. Rika turned and started walking again and brushed her fingers in her hair and headed towards one of the parks. It was one of the places where she could go and just unwind and not have to deal with the thought of family politics.

Once she arrived at the park she stood near railing near the lake, looking out at the water. It was then that she started to feel a bit light headed and dizzy, gripping the railing for support Rika swayed a bit as she lost her grip and fell backwards as everything went black. If anyone had been around, they would have been in for a shock. Before Rika had hit the ground, she had seemingly vanished in to thin air as if she had never been there to begin with.

A light had flashed in the sky and from it something darted down landing in the lake, though didn't disturb the calm surface of the water. Floating a few inches below the surface of the water was a girl, Rika to be exact who had a light glow emitting from her body which eventually faded. Rika opened her eyes, blinking a few times and stared up seeing the water's surface and a clear blue sky. It took a few moments to register she was underwater and flailed about and managed to push herself up and broke the surface of the water gasping. '_How long was I like that?_' She thought to herself and looked around before swimming to the edge of the lake and pulled herself out.

Sitting on the grass near the edge of the lake, Rika was a bit lost. Everything around her was just…forest. No people were around that she was aware of. She looked down at herself noting she was soaked to the core; a heavy sigh passed her lips as she moved brushing her fingers through her wet bangs, not being able to do much. "Well, sitting here isn't getting me anywhere." She said to herself and stood up slowly and started walking from the lake. The further away she walked, the more she started to think that she wasn't…home anymore. She wondered where all the traffic, people and buildings were; everything here was just animals, grass and forest. She continued to walk about until aimlessly until she found a group of three people standing ahead. '_People!_' She exclaimed to herself mentally and ran towards them. "Hello! I'm so sorry to bother, but could you tell me where I am? It seems I've gotten a bit lost and-…" She stopped talking completely when she had finally gotten a good look at the people whom she was asking for help.

They were wearing ancient Japanese clothing and had what looked like special customized chest armor, with obi sashes tied around the waist of the armor and then upon their hips were swords. Upon closer inspection she noted that these people didn't look that human, if they were human at all. They all had strange colored hair, markings on their faces, slit pupils instead of the normal round human eyes that were also abnormal colors, pointed ears and claws for nails. The one standing on the left was a female that was about Rika's height and a curvaceous body frame, even with all the armor covering her up Rika was able to tell. The woman had long dark blue hair that had part of it designed in an elegant bun on top of her head with silver ornaments. Her cat-like eyes were a bright lime green color and the markings on her face were a deep fuchsia color. The man in the middle was a few inches taller than Rika and had short, choppy emerald green hair that stopped just above his shoulders. His eyes were a dark blood red, Rika almost couldn't make out the cat-like pupils and the markings on his face were a burgundy color. Finally the last of them, who stood on the right, was a tall man with a decent amount of muscles, clearly built with a lot of strength that wasn't just for show. His long black hair was pulled in to a ponytail and while he had no markings on his face he had a lot of scars. His eyes were a dark amber color and were narrowed towards Rika.

"Well here she is. We should just kill her." The female said as it took Rika for a surprise as she backed up. '_What the hell…kill me? They were looking for me? Why?_' She thought to herself as she continued to back up and noted the female was missing, until she backed up in to a person behind who didn't even budge a bit.

The person was indeed the female who was glaring at her, "We can't. We have to take her back to the rest. We can't just kill her; we have to awaken her blood. It's clearly dormant currently, the blood moon is in a weeks' time." The male in the middle spoke as Rika's eyes widened, not sure how this woman suddenly was in front of her and now behind her. The larger male who had his arms crossed made a sound in his throat, "So let's just take her back and lock her up until then before more people show up to investigate what the flash was about." He spoke as the other two agreed and the large male walked over to pick Rika up. Rika backed away only find the female there to stop her again as the woman grabbed her.

"Don't try to run you little witch." The woman growled as Rika struggled against the hold that was surprisingly strong. The larger of the two males reached out forcefully grabbing her wrist and started to drag her along as she dug her feet in to the ground to try and stop from being pulled away.

"Let me go!" She yelled as the three stopped, seeming annoyed as the male who had her reached out to grab her other arm to stop her from struggling until Rika lashed out. Something triggered inside of her, causing the air to pulse with a ripple of vibrations, "I said let me go!" She said again, the voice coming out as if two people were talking at the same time, and when she lashed out there was a rip in the air like claw marks that cut down across the mans' face and dragged to his shoulder which caused him to let go. As soon as Rika was free she ran for it, not hesitating. The other two stood there in shock as the female was about to go after her before the smaller male stopped her.

"Don't. She can run all she likes. We'll find her again before the blood moon. She has nowhere to go. She herself seems like she doesn't know what is going on, but her inner demon certainly does but can't do anything about it." He spoke as the female scoffed and shrugged her male companion off. "Whatever. I say it's a mistake letting her go." She growled.

Rika ran, looking over her shoulder every now and then not seeing anyone behind her as she slowed to a walk, unwilling to stop moving. The more distance she put between herself and those…those, whatever they were, the better! She just wanted to go home already and if this was some kind of dream, it was one fucked up dream. Rika honestly had no idea where she was, or where she was going. Everything just looked so similar around her trees, more trees and maybe a few rocks. Rika jumped when she heard rustling coming from a nearby bush and yelped to find someone darting out at her, and while she was distracted by the person in front of her someone came up from behind and knocked her in the head to knock her out.

When Rika woke up again she sat up and placed her hand on her head and then looked at her hand seeing if there was blood on it. Whoever or whatever it was that knocked her out hit her hard. She groaned a bit and was tempted to lie back down, until she froze up and noted there was people talking around her. Looking around she noticed men and women dressed in more ancient Japanese clothing with old styled hair. All were standing around in a circle around her, whispering and gossiping about something.

"Whatever the hell it is it certainly smells like a demon!" An irritated voice blurted out as the crowd parted as a young man dressed in a red haori jacket and karusan-bakama pants walked over to her and knelt down. He had long white hair and dog ears on top of his head; bright amber eyes, claws for nails and a sword at his side. '_Oh god, another one!_' She thought and scrambled backwards.

"Inuyasha, behave!" A woman called as she walked forward, dressed in typical priestess's clothing and the normal hairstyle a priestess would wear and she had a bow and quiver on her back with a basket of herbs in one hand. She put the basket down and instantly ran over to Rika upon getting a good look at her. "Inuyasha! She's from my time! She's wearing modern clothing!" She spoke as she knelt down pointing out the clothing. Inuyasha blinked a few times and leaned over sniffing the air around the girl and made a face.

"Yeah… certainly smells like your time." He spoke flatly as Rika was now even more confused than before. It took her a bit to kind of understand the directions the conversation was going before Kagome stood up and moved holding her hands out and offered a warm smile. "Come on. You must be really exhausted, confused and cold. Let's get you out of those wet clothes and I'll try to explain." Kagome tried as Rika just stared at her. Well at least they weren't threatening to kill her. Rika took Kagome's hands as the priestess helped her up and walked her to a small hut after telling Inuyasha to take care of breaking up the commotion about the villages new arrival.

"This must be really strange for you? Huh?" Kagome asked laughing a bit as she pulled out some clothes to give Rika, who clearly was still in a bit of shock. Rika only nodded a bit and nodded in thanks for the clothes and began changing out of her wet ones. "You could say that..." She said slowly. Kagome again laughed softly, "I know how you feel. I was in your position once, randomly thrown out of our time and in to this time." She said as that made Rika stop and look over at Kagome.

"You are from Tokyo, Japan right? Modern times that is. Right now, you are in Feudal era of Japan so Tokyo doesn't even exist at the moment. How you got here though…is something I'm confused about. Oh, I'm so sorry! My name is Kagome by the way." She said holding her hand out and smiling. For some reason that name seemed to ring a bell in her head for some reason. After she finished dressing in the simple kimono she was given, she took Kagome's hand and shook it.

"Kagome? Like… Kagome Higurashi, Kagome?" She asked slowly as the girl did look familiar. She remembered hearing about a Kagome who was always sick with different illnesses but managed to get better and came back to school and finished with flying colors. Kagome blinked a few times and tilted her head and made an 'Eh' sound. "You know my name?" Kagome asked as Rika only gave her a light nod. "Yeah we went to the same school; I was a year ahead of you. I've only seen you a few times but you were always out of school for being sick." She said slowly. Kagome laughed a bit nervously and waved her hand a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, I wasn't actually sick. I was actually going back and forth between our time to here through a well at my families shrine." She explained. After a while, Kagome began to explain the whole story of what had happened and why she was traveling through time. It all seemed so surreal and yet, here Kagome was in front of her and she had met Inuyasha, a half-demon, earlier. Demons…all of a sudden she realized that those three people weren't humans but demons like Inuyasha. Rika suddenly stood up in a bit of a panic as she remembered the whole reason she had been running in the first place.

"They are going to kill me!" Rika said as she started to panic. Kagome stood up and gave Rika a worried look and reached out to try and calm the girl down, "What are you talking about Rika? Who is?" She asked as Inuyasha and Kaede walked in to see Rika in a bit of a fit. "Those… those demons! These demons, they were talking about killing me for something and there was something about a blood moon and all this other weird stuff. But they want to kill me!" She blurted out as Kaede sat down near the fire pit that was going and made a humming sound as she thought, trying to put together what this girl was saying.

"Oh what the hell…we should just get rid of her before we have to put up with whatever trouble she drags along with her." The disgruntled half-demon said as Kagome shot him a glare. "We can't just leave her to fend for herself against these demons! If they are trying to kill her, she's in danger!" She said as Kaede still hadn't said anything but got up and moved sitting down in front of Rika and stared at her closely, grabbing her chin forcefully, forcing the girl to look at her. "Mm… it makes sense." She said to herself and glanced at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, you said you smelt demon when you came in the village. Is the smell of demon just on her, or coming from her?" The older woman spoke. Inuyasha and Kagome blinked before the half-demon gave a bit of a shrug. "Both. The smell coming from her though is really faint." He said simply as Kagome sat down next to Rika and placed her hands on Rika's arm. "If you can, can you explain in detail everything that happened before you were brought here?" Kagome asked.

Rika took a deep breath and gave nod, not understand but figured it was her best shot. "I was in our time, modern time, standing in one of the parks when I started to feel really dizzy and then I just blacked out. When I woke up again I was in a lake and swam to land and started walking, that's when I came across these three demons that were talking about how I was here and how they should just kill me now. Then another one stated how they had to wait because my blood was dormant and they needed a blood moon and then they could kill me, but I had to be where the others were. And then I ran." She said simply as Inuyasha and Kaede looked at each other with a bit of concern before Inuyasha crouched down and narrowed his eyes, "What is your last name." He asked, and before she could really respond he grabbed the front of her top and shook her a bit. "What is your family name? Tell me now." Inuyasha growled as Rika leaned back a bit. "Tagachi. My family's name is Tagachi." She said slowly.

Inuyasha stood up and looked at Kaede crossing his arms as she seemed to share the same look he did. "That name hasn't been around for a while…wasn't the last of them killed in a mini-war like a hundred years ago?" Inuyasha said as the old woman nodded slowly. "That is what rumor said, but it is very likely they started that story themselves. They had a lot of enemies. And if these demons are after this girl and they want a blood moon; that means this girl herself is a demon. And they've survived to Kagome and Rika's era." Kaede spoke as Rika seemed a bit bewildered by what she was saying and laughed, mostly out of stress like this was some sort of crazy dream.

"Demon? Me? Do you know how crazy that sounds? I'm human!" Rika shouted as Kaede looked at Inuyasha who pulled his sword Tessaiga out, the blade growing to its full size and held it out in front of him while Kaede pulled out sutras and waited as Inuyasha made it seem like he'd attack Rika. Mostly out of impulse Rika stood to her feet to back up but as she did so the aura around her crackled as it caused a clash with Inuyasha's blade.

"It's there, dormant. But there." Inuyasha spoke and put Tessaiga away while Kagome looked at Inuyasha and Kaede and then to Rika who had saw what happened to his sword but didn't know what it had to do with her. "Child, you are a demon, a magic seal suppresses your inherited blood to keep you safe from the enemies your family has made." Kaede spoke finally before sitting back down seeing as the girl was of no threat to them. At least, she wasn't a threat yet.

Kagome and Inuyasha had stepped out to allow Kaede to speak with Rika alone and also to talk amongst themselves. It was a shock for Kagome because not only was this girl from her time, but was also a demon. There was a lingering silence as Kagome looked at Inuyasha whose ears were pinned back against his skull, clearly he was annoyed at what they both knew they had to do. "Come on Inuyasha, you know he is the only one who will have more information about her family. And he might even be able to tell us why they are after her." She said as she wrapped her arms around his elbow, though he never uncrossed his arms. "Yeah yeah…that bastard is just a pain in the ass." He spoke grumbling to himself as Kagome laughed.

The following morning Rika was woken up by Kagome and told to prepare to leave as they were going to see someone who might help give insight on the situation. Rika was thankful she was able to have her own clothes instead of having to wear the old fashioned clothing, though Kagome suggested that Rika where a haori jacket just so not to draw too much attention. Kagome remembered coming to this time in her school uniform and it drew a lot of attention and this girl surly didn't want that much attention drawn on herself. Rika stood outside with Kagome as they waited for Inuyasha to arrive.

"So… Kagome, who exactly are we going to talk to?" Rika asked looking over to the priestess who just smiled. "Inuyasha's elder half-brother; he is the Lord of the West, a powerful pure-blood dog demon, he might seem a bit intimidating at first but he really is a bit of a softy I think." Kagome said laughing a bit. Once Inuyasha arrived he led Kagome and Rika off to meet up with Sesshomaru, where they could talk about the situation. Rika had somewhat come to accept the situation, the fact she was in a different time but some part of her still felt like this was some sort of weird dream. At least her thinking on her own situation had made time pass by faster than she had expected.

When Inuyasha, Kagome and Rika arrived at the area they were going to be meeting Inuyasha's elder brother, the man was already there waiting. Standing perfectly still as a statue, he made no movements despite their arrival. His hair was the same color as Inuyasha's though was much better maintained despite the length. The markings on his face consisted of a dark blue crescent moon on his forehead, two magenta stripes on each cheek and one over each eyelid, which gave him a slightly feminine appearance. He wore white clothing with the typical elegant chest armor most royal demons wore and along his shoulder was a long white fur boa that hung down behind him. He almost looked as if he wasn't real; wearing white and not a single speck of dirt or a hair out of place on him. When he finally did move he only slightly turned his head and gazed to his younger sibling with no emotion. His golden honey eyes only showed a bit of annoyance at being called out for a conversation that seemed pointless.

Inuyasha stood in front of his elder brother and crossed his arms, "We have something we need your insight on since we don't really know much about it." Inuyasha spoke bluntly and scoffed after. "Don't let it get to your head, just there is an interesting situation that has come up. What do you know about the Tagachi clan?" He said getting straight to the point.

Sesshomaru didn't respond right away and it almost seemed like he didn't have any intentions to, "They were a group of royal demons much like our family; they aided and supplied our father many times, as well as a few others. They often housed demons who would be considered criminals in some territories. The Tagachi clan was known for their diplomatic ways, but at the same time made for a deadly enemy. Because the head of the family shunned lordship, he simply was considered a war lord. They made life very hard for mercenary groups and bandits." He began and closed his eyes with a sigh and continued, "Needless to say they gained a great deal of enemies. Bandit groups formed together and started to target members of the family, it got to the point they would stoop low enough to attack pups. So what little members were left fled or went in to hiding, the others were killed. Rumors spread how they were tracked down and killed though." He explained and finally opened his eyes and stared at his brother. "What is your interest in them so suddenly." He stated, not as a question though, since he clearly expected to be answered.

"Well, are those bandits still around?" Kagome suddenly asked causing the Lord to shift his gaze to Kagome to where he had finally taken note of the third person they had with them, another half-demon like Inuyasha? No, to him her blood smelt far more diluted than that even. He sighed again and glanced up towards the sky as if trying to recall a memory.

"Yes, they just war with one another now…there aren't as many clans left now. Most are scattered, but they give each territory a fair amount of a headache." Sesshomaru spoke as he glanced back to Inuyasha again about to question him what this was all about before Kagome jumped the gun and started to spew out the situation which, needless to say he found amusing since it annoyed his younger sibling. Kagome had moved putting Rika in front of her, placing her hands on the girls shoulders as she started to explain the situation to Sesshomaru.

"This is Rika, she somehow came from my time to this time. Villagers had found her and brought her to us. We still don't know what exactly brought her here but we know it has something to do with those bandits you just told us about! They are the reason she is here, we know that much. She ran in to them not long after coming to this time and they talked about killing her and waiting until a blood moon to awaken her blood. Kaede and Inuyasha had come to the conclusion she is indeed a demon but her blood is dormant, but it doesn't explain why they need a blood moon so they can perform a ritual to awaken her blood and then kill her." Kagome said, speaking quickly before taking a breath. Sesshomaru just stared blankly at Inuyasha and Kagome before making something of an annoyed sound in his throat.

"Are you mocking my intelligence?" He said as he narrowed his eyes as he pointed a finger towards Rika. "The girl is clearly a lower status of a half-demon, her blood is simply diluted down to a weak state. How would demons have survived to your time, she clearly just has weak heritage." He said coldly as he honestly thought they just came here to insult him or something with this absurd story; or play a joke on him.

"No it's for sure there. See for yourself." Inuyasha said and moved grabbing Rika and moved pushing her forward a bit. "If her blood is that diluted, ask you say, she shouldn't be able to do anything." Inuyasha spoke flatly as Rika turned and glared at Inuyasha.

"Are you trying to get me killed?! What is your problem!" Rika demanded as she jumped when she felt a chill run up her spin and turned looking back at Sesshomaru who simply narrowed his eyes and turned his back to them and walked away.

"I do not have time for these childish-" Sesshomaru started and was interrupted by the cocky laugh of Inuyasha. The Lord of the West turned and looked at Inuyasha who had his arms crossed, with a smirking. "You're scared of a human, running away from a challenge are you? Figures, I mean I did take your arm off and everything. You must be scared to be wrong and that she might actually be a threat to you." Inuyasha spoke, clearly taunting Sesshomaru in to doing something.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded as it was too late. Sesshomaru would not be mocked by his half-sibling so he would prove to Inuyasha that this girl was indeed nothing but dirty blood. Pulling his sword he swiftly charged towards the human and swung his weapon to take her head off, but instead his sword bounced and was knocked from his hand. That was when he realized what Kagome and Inuyasha had been speaking of. There was a crackle of demon energy, a physical aura that spawned from the girl who had her arms up, as if it would have stopped him from cutting her head off. He could hear something of a growl emitting passed the aura, the girls true self was hidden away and locked by some sort of magic.

This was…interesting to say the least. Sesshomaru had heard of demons being able to hide as humans but this, this was beyond normal hiding. She was born like this, magic already sealing her power away. Though it clearly was reactive to danger, doing the only thing it could do. Sesshomaru simply stood back a bit staring at the girl and then to Inuyasha who was giving him an 'I told you so' look.

"Let us assume, she is as you say and she is demon and of the Tagachi clan. What do you intend on doing? The bandits will rip your pathetic village apart if they find out she is there, which I would not be very fond of considering Rin is staying there." Sesshomaru said flatly as he retrieved his sword and placed it back on his hip while waiting for a response.

"We kind of hoped, that is where you would come in…" Kagome spoke looking towards the demon Lord with her head tilted to the side a bit. "Don't you know anything that can, like help her or break the magic? The way she is now she can't do much to defend herself." She said as Inuyasha nodded along with his mate and closed his eyes.

"And then I can teach her how to defend herself. It's the best chance we have now." Inuyasha spoke as Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha and seemed rather confused at that statement.

"You? You of all people intend to teach her how to fight? You are reckless and savage, at best. While it serves you well it does not mean it will serve others well. These bandits are trained and skilled at the art of fighting." Sesshomaru said as he stood there, still as a statue once more with the emotionless face and voice.

"Then you take her and train her! You dumped Rin on to us to adjust to human life! Trade for a trade! It gets Rika out of the village; which means it and Rin won't be in danger and then she'll have 'proper' fighting skills." Inuyasha scoffed as it was more of him being sarcastic but Kagome clasped her hands together as her eyes brightened up.

"Inuyasha! That is a wonderful idea! None of the bandits would suspect to sniff around Sesshomaru's home and like you said, it keeps Rin and the village safe. Rika can learn more about her family and how to fight while we figure out what the bandits want!" Kagome said in a rather cheery tone which caught both brothers off guard, while Rika herself was a bit horrified at the idea of being stuck with Sesshomaru.

After a long moment of silence, Sesshomaru finally spoke. "No." He said flatly and moved turning and started slowly walking off. He refused to get himself involved in this and he most certainly refused to be a baby sitter to this odd human, let alone train her. He tolerated his brother and the priestess, he tolerated the humans in their village but he would not do them any favors. He stopped in his tracks, though didn't look behind him, "If something happens to Rin, the bandits will be the least of your worries. I promise you that." He said in a threatening tone and resumed walking until he was out of sight.

"Go figure! That damn bastard would do something like that!" Inuyasha growled in irritation. Kagome simply patted him on the back and suggested they return to the village and form a plan of action. Rika was thankful she wouldn't be left with Sesshomaru, but at the same time it left the issue of there being demons that were after her and wanted her dead. That and she still hadn't any clue what this was all about with her being a demon and what all the stuff was with her family. She knew her family was odd, in the sense that they were a bit more secluded than everyone else she knew but she never would have considered it to be because they were all secretly not even human.

Upon returning to the village, they were greeted by Miroku, Sango and their family and of course Shippo. Of course Miroku had to make a flirtatious greeting to Rika upon meeting her, while he would never offer anything suggestive, saying bearing his children, now that he was married he was still a charmer at heart.

"My! What a beautiful young woman. Inuyasha, I had no idea who you were secretly gathering up women." Miroku joked to his best friend, who promptly blew up and raged. Rika had managed to pull her hands from the monk and went to sit near Kagome who was playing with Sango's children as the two chatted and caught up with one another.

"So I hear that you are from Kagome's time and are stuck here, also that you are actually a demon. I don't know much about your family honestly, in the past our demon slaying village tended to avoid confrontations with them. The only information I can offer you though, is their last known location." She offered as Rika looked up and for the first time since she had been here, seemed to have a bit of hope. If anything these people were saying rang true about who and what she was than it was worth a shot; as she didn't really have that many options to pick from to begin with.

Rika nodded slowly at the retired demon slayer and glanced towards Kagome who clasped her hands together and smiled. "That's wonderful news! Now we have a lead and figure out what exactly brought you here and why. I hope your family will be able to help." She said as Rika nodded again and glanced back to Sango.

"So where exactly was their last known location?" She asked as she was anxious to get help and answers. The girls sat talking amongst themselves while the boys caught up with one another. Sango explained to Rika all she knew about the last known locations of where her family was; even if they weren't living there anymore there was a chance that clues might be around to pinpoint where they went in to hiding. Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo had finally joined up with the girls and Kagome explained to Inuyasha where the last known locations of Rika's family was and how there might be a chance they can find someone who can help. Although Inuyasha wasn't very fond of tracking down these demons, he supposed he had no other choice. It was this or deal with the wrath of Sesshomaru; and dealing with his brother wasn't ideal.

Out in the forests in the North, hiding on the edge of dragon demon territory were the three bandits that were the reason for Rika's being here. The woman sat relaxed and casually leaned in to a tree sharpening her claws while the larger of the two males sat in almost as if he were meditating, the smaller male who seemed to be the leader of the group stood near their camp fire with his arms crossed.

"So what exactly do you intend on doing Genji? What if that idiot girl actually manages to unlock her demon blood before we do?" The female asked the smaller of the two males, their leader. Genji was the son of the bandit war lord that was killed by the Tagachi family. Once his father passed, he assumed control of the bandits, though there wasn't very many left. Small territory wars broke out after the death of this father and most of the people in their group switched and opted to join with other groups. The female was Sonomi, she was one of the few that stayed dedicated to Genji; and though she was rather attracted to Genji there was never any romance between them. And finally there was Shiro, the larger male whom served as Genji's right-hand and advisor. Shiro had been serving Genji's father originally but they had been friends since their teenage years, naturally when Genji's father died, Shiro took oath to Genji and swore his loyalty to him.

Genji sighed heavily and moved brushing his fingers through his bangs and peered over to Sonomi, "If she does, it will be less work for us in the end. I'm not really concerned about what she does. So long as we have her for the blood moon then that is all we need. The ritual we used to summon someone of their bloodline worked, so the ritual of sacrifice to bring back my father will work as well, so long as the blood debt is paid." He said slowly and waved his hand off to the woman to make her stop fussing over the concerns of the girl. "Come time, we will retrieve here again. It's not like she can manage much in a week's time out on her own." He said in order to soothe whatever outburst that Sonomi might follow up with.

"Genji is right. She knows nothing of herself, what can she possibly do?" Shiro said slowly as he sat there peacefully before opening his eyes to poke at the fire. "Once her blood awakens if not before the blood moon, it'll be on the blood moon. Then we sacrifice her and it shall bring back our beloved War Lord." Shiro said as Sonomi only scoffed and told them both they were making a big mistake before leaping up in to one of the trees to take first watch of their area.

Inuyasha had planned out the trip for himself, Kagome and Rika while leaving the care of the village in the hands of Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Once the three set off for their three day journey off to the coast, it was the last known area of Rika's family and at the very least if they didn't find her family they might find clues.

There wasn't much chatter during the trip, spare Kagome trying to coax out conversation from Rika. Rika didn't really know what to say or how to respond, she was mostly lost in her own thoughts of what might happen once they arrived at their destination. She wondered to herself what would happen if they weren't there and what that would mean for her, or what if there weren't any clues to begin with which made the trip kind of pointless. At the same time, she was worried about what might happen if they did find her family; what would they say? How would they act? Would they even help her?

Inuyasha could pick up on the uneasy nerves from Rika and scoffed as he sat up in the tree watching Kagome cook them lunch. "If you are that scared of going, then why make this trip? You've involved other people in your matters, so if you unsure of what you want to do maybe you should have considered their outcomes in this." He said to Rika who looked up at him. She opened her mouth to speak and then stopped herself and thought a moment.

Narrowing her eyes she stood to her feet and looked up at him, "I know what I want. It's just hard to wrap my mind around it, have you ever considered that suddenly being told you are a demon and that demons are actually still alive in a time where they considered myths? It's a lot to swallow down on top of the fact someone wants me dead. I want answers and I _am_ grateful for your helping me because otherwise I would be dead." She said as Inuyasha growled towards her.

"Welcome to the Feudal era. Things aren't comfortable and safe; things will try to kill you even without a motive. And if you can't come to terms with that, then you'll end up being something or someone's next meal." He said in warning as Kagome waved her hand off at Inuyasha who left from his tree to go get more firewood.

Upon arrive near the coast they came across a human village, the villagers were a bit skeptical of the three newly arrived guests; more so Rika who was dressed in strange clothing. Inuyasha walked around to start asking questions while Rika and Kagome stuck together and did the same. While Kagome sat and talked to someone about any information they could offer about demon activities, Rika walked over to a small group of people to ask them for information.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but do you mind if I ask you for assistance? Me and my friends are looking for a group of demons that may be around or were around at one point, do you know anything that could help us?" She asked as the group looked amongst themselves before a man finally spoke.

"And to what business do you have with these demons you are looking for?" He asked as Rika looked at him and gave a soft sigh. "Well, you see there is a situation going on that I was dragged in to and don't know much about. They are the only ones that can give me answers though, because I believe I might be related to them." She said slowly as the group looked to each other again, the looks on their faces changing dramatically as a few stood to their feet. The man only raised his hand for the others to sit as he nodded to them slowly.

"I see… that is indeed an issue. Might I ask what kind of situation you are in?" The man asked as Rika looked at him and to the others and then back at Kagome and Inuyasha. She remembered before coming in to the village Inuyasha strictly warned her of who she told her situation to. Not knowing any other way of wording it she went the simplest route she knew.

"Well, they might be able to save me from a horrible fate." She said simply as the man only looked on to her and sat down seeming to think over her answer. The rest of the small group seemed rather troubled over the information they were hearing but didn't say anything, only stared at Rika.

"Very well, there is an abandoned estate not far from here, and hours walk. A group of demons used to use is as their home that is all I know and can offer you. Though rumor is they have moved or vanished. My deepest apologies I cannot be of more help." He spoke as Rika only bowed deeply towards the man and thanked him before running off to Kagome and Inuyasha to tell them the information she found.

"Do you believe it was wise to tell that girl such a thing, Master?" A woman asked as she moved her fan from her fast as the man closed his eyes and nodded a bit. "She is of the blood; the danger she speaks of is not beyond being real. How she was discovered is a mystery, either way we will be there to greet her." He replied as the group stood up and walked off.

Inuyasha, Kagome and Rika traveled out to where this estate was supposed to be and just like Rika was told, it was a bit of walk. Upon finding the estate, it seemed to still be in somewhat good shape considering no one living there for a while. Inuyasha jumped up on the wall surrounding it and went ahead while Kagome and Rika found the front and pushed the large wooden doors open. Inside the estate were gardens, ponds, walking paths that led to bridges that went over some of the ponds and of course the buildings were split up in to different living areas.

"No one is around, but it sure looks like someone is doing a little bit of up keeping." Inuyasha said as he darted over to the girls after scouting out the area. Kagome nodded slowly and nudged at Inuyasha who looked down at her and noticed her pointing to Rika who seemed to be in shock. "What's your deal?" Inuyasha asked as he and Kagome walked over.

Rika just stood there with wide eyes staring at the buildings and everything else with her mouth slightly open, she looked more like she had seen a ghost. "This… this is the estate my grandparents own in my time…" Rika said slowly.


	2. Chapter 2: Weight of the Family Name

_Chapter 2: Weight of the Family Name_

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at one another for a moment before Kagome walked over towards Rika and tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?" She asked as Rika reached out towards a nearby tree and leaned against it for support. Color had drained from her porcelain colored skin, making her paler than she already was. Back in her time this place, this estate belonged to her grandparents who had been updating and renovating it while preserving its original look, the only reason she hadn't noticed it before is because the scenery was so much different here in the Feudal era compared to her time. "Rika?..." Kagome asked again as she knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This…estate is owned by my grandparents in our time. They would always go on about how it's been in the family since it was built and was lined with old fashioned armor, weapons and all sorts of other ancient artifacts." She said slowly as Kagome looked around and then looked up at Inuyasha who shrugged.

"Well doesn't look like anyone is here right now so I guess it's safe to say they aren't here." Inuyasha scoffed, about to continue on to say something that wouldn't be all that helpful or encouraging until he sensed that they were no longer alone. Spinning around on his heel, Inuyasha placed his hand on his sword ready to attack whoever or whatever it was that showed up and stopped upon noticing it was just humans, but humans from the village they had come from. "Who are you and what do you want?" Inuyasha growled.

"Those are the people who told me about the estate!" Rika choked out as Kagome stood to her feet and helped Rika up who was still struggling to wrap her mind around information already.

"Oh really, how convenient." Inuyasha said as he pulled out his sword and pointed it towards the group who didn't seem all the interested or were unimpressed. The man who had given Rika the information in the first place stepped forward; his arms crossed with his hands in his sleeves, and bowed down towards the three.

"Forgive us, we never meant to cause you a fright. We are the demons you look for, we are that girls' family." He spoke as Rika stopped and looked over towards them, Inuyasha never budging to lowering his weapon. "I noticed who and what you were as soon as you came to us asking of our whereabouts; the group of bandits that are currently after you call themselves the Kuroki Honoo. The magical seal on your blood is dramatically weakened compared to ours…" The man said and trailed off as he moved placing his hands together and chanted a string of mantras of some sort before a massive gust of wind and glow emitted from him and the people with him. Once the glow subsided, the seals were removed and they had reverted to their demon forms.

Raising his hand he gestured forward as one of the men dashed forward with great speed, bypassing Inuyasha and swung his blade at Rika which triggered her demonic aura. "Due to that weakened state of your seal, under great deals of stress or when a threat is present it triggers your powers to protect you. As it appears, you clearly had no idea it was there to begin with you, so you lack control over it." He explained as the man who attacked Rika only bowed in apology for startling her and returned back to the group. "I am Mitsunobu, head of the Tagachi family." He said, finally introducing himself.

The group of demons, while on one hand didn't look that much different from other demons, on the other hand they were vastly different at the same time. They had a noble and commanding aura about them that both was intimidating and welcoming at the same time. They were beautiful, or at least to Rika they were beautiful. Majority of them had the deepest of black hair, at a certain angle when light hit their hair just the right way it gave off a purple hue which made it seem more like the sky out in space; others had pale blonde or fiery red hair colors. One thing they all had in common though was porcelain skin, the same porcelain skin Rika had, and bright crystal blue eyes, a blue that seemed to swirl as if it were the ocean. Some had markings and some didn't, that seemed to be a common theme among all demons though. Though one odd feature they had that other demons did not, was the horn on their heads. Some had short horns either coming from the top of their head or from high up on their foreheads.

Mitsunobu himself was one of three who were older than the rest in the small group. From a human point of view he seemed to be in his mid or late thirties. He had a series of red marks on one cheek, making it look like claw marks while he had four horns coming from the top of his forehead and sticking out from his bangs; two on the left and two on the right. The two larger sets of horns were on top, while the smaller sets sat right below the larger horns. His black hair was slightly spiked at the top and as it got longer, going down the length of his back got pin straight.

Inuyasha finally put his sword away and looked back at Rika who was stuck staring at the group of demons and scoffed. "You going to stand there all day or talk?" He asked which snapped Rika out of gawking as she blinked a few times and looked towards the demons and then to Kagome who only smiled a bit and nodded. Rika took a deep breath and walked out in front of Mitsunobu and bowed deeply, folding her hands and placing them on her knees as she closed her eyes.

"Mitsunobu-sama! I am Rika Tagachi! I come from the future, roughly five-hundred years in the future. I somehow managed to travel back through time to this era due the group of bandits that is out for my blood for some kind of ritual. I beg of you, please assist me!" She pleaded to him, not budging from her bowing position.

After a short period of silence, Mitsunobu let out a hearty chuckle and placed his hand upon his stomach doubling forward and shook his head. "Beg of me? Why the last time someone pleaded like that to me was a boy who was utterly terrified of me asking to take my daughter as his mate." He said as his eyes watered up a bit. The group behind him seemed to be in a state of shock, one of the women his age seemed slightly horrified. As he regained his composure he walked forward and placed his hand on top of Rika's head ruffling up her hair. "Of _course_ I will help you, you are family." Mitsunobu spoke warmly.

Rika looked up quickly, in shock at what she had just heard as she stared at the man, they would help her! A rush of emotions bubbled up in her, the weight and stress that had been riding on her shoulders of a lingering death that awaited her seemed to fade. Her eyes began to get glassy as she reached out and hugged the man, breaking down due to the rush of relief. The group behind him was in shock once more and slightly uneasy of this girl, but stopped themselves as their Master held up his hand signaling to them it was fine. Mitsunobu only laughed and shook his head once more and glanced towards Inuyasha and Kagome and gave them a nod.

"I thank you for keeping her safe. It would be truly tragic if more of my family had died, you are welcome to stay here with her as you are her friends?" He asked unsure of who they really were to her.

Once again jumping the gun before Inuyasha could say anything, Kagome answered for both of them. "Yes! We are Rika's friends and it would be a pleasure to stay here as your guests if it is no issue!" She said and bowed in thanks as Inuyasha grumbled something under his breath and crossed his arms.

"Come then, I am sure all three of you have many questions. We will do our best to explain." Mitsunobu spoke and guided Rika inside along with Kagome and Inuyasha. Following after them was the rest of the group which Kagome and Inuyasha assumed were other members of the Tagachi clan.

Once they were inside the main house it was clear that the Tagachi clan still used this place every now and then, only not as often since technically the family was supposed to be wiped out. Mitsunobu had activated the seals on him and the rest of the family members with him once more, only to make sure no one would catch wind of them. Once in the dining hall they all were seated down and a few members of the family left to go prepare a meal.

"I am prepared for your questions, please ask what you like." Mitsunobu said as he gazed towards Rika, Inuyasha and Kagome. Kagome was the first to speak, seeing as Inuyasha was well, being himself and Rika was still sniffling.

"Why is it you went in to hiding? What was it that triggered all of this hate towards your family?" Kagome asked as one of the women at the table got huffy over the question and fluttered her fan in an annoyed fashion. Mitsunobu only chuckled a bit and leaned against the table, settling in to get ready to give them a long explanation.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning so it'll make the most sense." Mitsunobu began and closed his eyes briefly to recall long-off memories. "The Tagachi family has always been nobility, much like the Taisho family or any noble family. Our family lived a modest life though, we do not desire power or land. When Inu no Taisho asked me if I wished to take the land in the north from Ryukotsusei when he was slain, I declined." He said as Inuyasha and Kagome stared in awe at the man who only gave out a loud laugh. "Oh yes, I was very close with your father, Inuyasha." The man said smiling.

Inuyasha stared at Mitsunobu, "Eh, you know who I am?" He asked flatly as Mitsunobu laughed once again and nodded a bit towards the young half-demon.

"I do indeed and your mother is Izayoi, elder half-brother is Sesshomaru and your stepmother is Kimi Taisho. Though I never had the honor of meeting your mother in person I'm afraid." He said and waved his hand off in the air. "Back to what I was saying, since Toga and I were close friends I aided him when we were still young and he was taking on the Western Lands for himself. In the wars that would come I supplied his army with food, armor, weapons and medicine. Most of my dealings were fights with bandits and mercenary groups that looked to cause trouble for your fathers' territory." He explained and sighed heavily.

Some of the family members returned with trays of tea and some snacks for the guests and Mitsunobu himself. "One in particular caused Toga a great deal of grief, a royal thorn in his side. He would raid villages, take supplies, made a few attempts to raid on Toga's estate even." Mitsunobu spoke and picked up his cup of tea taking a sip from it. "Then this war lord, Jirou, made a threat on Kimi and Sesshomaru's life. Toga came to me asking me for help, he had his hands tied in other issues and couldn't afford anymore enemies on his doorstep, and killing Jirou would bring down the wrath of a lot of mercenaries and bandits. So some of my best men and I set out and found this Jirou and took his head clear off his shoulders." He spoke.

There was a lingering silence at the table and Rika finally spoke after being silent for a long time, "So because you killed War Lord Jirou…the bandits turned all their attention towards you and the family." Rika said slowly as Mitsunobu nodded a bit and gave a smile, which one would think that the Tagachi family would hold hard feelings towards the Taisho family.

"Prices of friendship you could call it. We didn't have much trouble at the start; it was when the groups of mercenaries got organized that it became a problem. I always did my best to help villages of humans and demons alike to ward off these guys, we became a threat to their way of life. And since I had killed one of the most widely known war lord, it was only logical that they deal with our family." Mitsunobu spoke and gave a light shrug and glanced to Rika and reached out placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

"You have no idea how deeply sorry I am, that you shoulder the full burden and weight of our families' name. But I promise you, I will do all I can to help you and teach you what you need to know, but we do not have much time before the blood moon. Rest for tonight and we can start in the morning." Mitsunobu spoke and Rika nodded and finished the food and tea in front of her before standing up. She stopped briefly when she heard subtle whispers of something as Mitsunobu only waved his hands in an up and down motion for everyone to bring the chattering whispers to a stop.

"There is one thing I wish to ask you, that everyone is extremely curious about." Mitsunobu spoke as Rika only nodded and slowly sat back down. Kagome and Inuyasha glanced to one another wondering what it could be that Mitsunobu would ask her. "You have the most peculiar and unique eyes many of us have ever seen. A child with two different colored eyes is vastly rare and as I am sure you are able to tell, out family all has blue eyes. Do you know where you might have picked up the green from?" Mitsunobu asked as the rest of the Tagachi family that had avoided direct contact with her peered over curious to hear her answer.

"My fathers' side of the family is where the green comes from, our family talks and socializes with three other families that are in the same social rank as us. They are the only people that they really talk to. And some of my fathers' side of the family comes from one of the others." She said as what once was whispering chatter was suddenly loud gasps and the like with people openly talking.

Mitsunobu could tell that it made no sense to the girl and only laughed getting everyone to bring the chatter down. "I'm sure you've noticed we aren't exactly normal demons in terms compared to others. There were only four groups of our kind, that we know of and we made attempts to stay in touch with each other. The rest, much like us all have blue eyes…but there was one clan who was famously known for their bright green eyes. We made an attempt once to make a bond with that family and that bond was destroyed long ago. I am very glad to hear you are closer to one another in that time." He spoke and bowed his head towards Rika, in something that seemed like thanks.

Rika moved standing up and bowed towards Mitsunobu and the rest before she was led off to a place to sleep for the night. As soon as she was gone Mitsunobu rubbed his temples and peered off at something in the distance. "Mitsunobu-sama?" Kagome asked as the man looked over to the young priestess and raised an eyebrow towards her. "I was curious what kind of demons are you exactly? And what seems to worry you?" She asked. Suddenly the easily annoyed woman who had flapping her fan about stood to her feet with ease and grace despite the tightly bound up kimono that clung to her frame. "How dare you—!" She began snapping her fan shut and pointed it towards the priestess.

Mitsunobu laughed tiredly and moved holding his hand up, "I thank you for your concern love, I will allow their questions though." He spoke as the woman sat down and narrowed her eyes as she opened her fan and started to flap it in the quick annoyed nature once more. "Forgive my mate, she has always been like this. Even in childhood she was rather pushy." He chuckled earning a rather annoyed 'Hmph' like sound from the woman. "We are what most call Oni. Simply just demons, demons who have no relation to nature. Like the Taisho family is known for being dog demons, in the north dragon demons, in the east panthers and in the south wolves. Of course there are also demons classified by the elements as well." He said in an attempt to explain.

"But I thought that you all were supposed to be like troll or ogre-like demons?" Kagome asked as most of the family left at the table chuckled at Kagomes' suggestion. Mitsunobu simply just shook his head and moved leaning back from the table a bit to get comfortable.

"No, those things you see are a lower class demon than us. We are, their pureblood version you could say. Also, unlike other demons we don't have a second form the forms you saw us in is our only form, our true form." Mitsunobu spoke as Kagome seemed shocked and turned to Inuyasha who only nodded as if confirming what Mitsunobu said.

"And also…" Mitsunobu said and sighed, "I have concerns for Rika-chan. You can tell she is uneasy about all of this, unwilling even. And who can blame her? One minute she is living a peaceful probably fairly boring life. Next she is thrown in to a time where people want her dead; everything she has ever known about her family is just a mask. Her entire world is upside down at the moment which is why we must act quickly and do what we can and hope it is enough." Mitsunobu spoke.

Rika laid in her bed, staring at her clothes from her time that were folded up next to her sneakers. What was she supposed to do exactly? These people after her actually killed people and the only thing she has done is take kendo classes. Did everyone expect her to suddenly to just be fully prepared to take the life of another person? They make it sound so easy, that it should just be natural that she'd want to do something like that. She tossed and turned most of the night, restless and unable to get decent sleep.

When morning came Rika was ushered out of her room and forced to bathe, although Rika wasn't going to complain about having a nice bath anyways. She was scrubbed head to toe by three women who then showed her how to dress in this era's clothing properly and left her to do so, of course Rika did no such thing and changed in to her own clothing and walked outside to meet with Mitsunobu who was shocked to see her in her typical clothing.

"Did you not find the clothing picked out for you satisfactory?" Mitsunobu questioned as Rika didn't say anything at first and simply glanced towards the women who glared at her for not putting the clothing on.

"I'm not comfortable in kimono dresses." She said simply as Mitsunobu raised an eyebrow looking at her carefully and examined the clothing from the future which she wore and seemed to understand and smiled and waved his hand to one of the younger men who came over and knelt down on the ground near Mitsunobu.

"See if you can find Rika-chan some men's' clothing that would better suit her. I'm sure there is something around here we have in her size." Mitsunobu said as the man nodded and stood, leading Rika back inside the estate to find her something she'd be more comfortable in. It wasn't long before Rika returned wearing black hakama pants and a matching haori jacket. They had managed to fit right to her without being too big and getting in the way of moving.

Once Rika was ready, Mitsunobu would give her a crash course on surviving in this era. He was painfully aware that she was reluctant to all of this and he couldn't blame her, but only time would be able to tell if she would sink or swim and be able to survive. He already was putting a lot on the line for the sake of her survival, but she was family, how could he not help her?

Rika oddly enough, was doing a lot better than Mitsunobu expected her to in the training. She was skilled, going toe to toe with another human she had high chances of survival and if Mitsunobu removed the magical seal, as a demon she'd stood an average change of survival if she knew how to function as a demon. Kagome and Inuyasha sat watching Rika and Mitsunobu go at each other with training swords, Kagome was in awe at Rika's quick movement as she had her hands clasped together. "She must have taken classes!" Kagome said as Inuyasha just scoffed at that comment.

"Yeah, so? She'll still get killed if she had to actually face a demon." Inuyasha spoke as Kagome turned and glared at him causing him to scoff again and decided he wouldn't argue with Kagome on the matter. But he spoke the truth, she might do fine against another human but if she had to go up against a demon whose strength and speed greatly overpowers those of a human? She wouldn't stand a chance.

Mitsunobu passed on all the knowledge he could to Rika over the next two days, how to properly use a sword in a life or death situation and passed on the knowledge of being a demon the best he could. "There will come a time Rika-chan, where you will need to look inside of yourself for the answers you seek. Not everything can be taught, but I promise you whatever can be taught you will learn. Just don't forget that you yourself have the answers to certain situations as well, you are more capable than you know." Mitsunobu spoke as he looked at Rika carefully.

She was unsure of herself and the situation in general. He knew what had to be done, but it was out of his hands now. Sending Rika away to bathe and get rest, Mitsunobu turned his attentions to sending a message to someone and making preparations for a trip to the Western Lands. He would have to mask his scent while in his demon form long enough to secure Rika's safety in the west and then return back here.

The following morning Inuyasha, Kagome, Rika and Mitsunobu met outside of the Tagachi estate. Rika was dressed in a kimono and wore a wrap over it so to have a hood over her head and help conceal what she looked like. "You two return to your village, I will take Rika to the west and make sure that she will be properly looked after. Lord Sesshomaru will not turn the offer down." Mitsunobu said as Kagome was a bit worried that Sesshomaru wouldn't accept considering he had on interest the first time they tried to get him to help. But finally the two groups parted ways with Inuyasha and Kagome returning to their village and Mitsunobu and Rika heading to Sesshomaru's home.

The travel to the west was actually a lot smoother than Rika had expected with Mitsunobu revealed as a demon and all. Though he had told her earlier on that his scent was masked so it would give them time to do what needed. Whatever it was that entailed in what was needed was beyond Rika, she only knew that being stuck with this Sesshomaru person wasn't her idea of being safe.

The massive castle of the Great Dog Demon Lord, Sesshomaru, was gated with tall walls though from the outside Rika could see the roof of the castle. Four guards in decorative armor stood watch at the two massive doorway while countless numbers of guards were posted about up on the wall. Rika had to admit it was a bit intimidating seeing these demons with their weapons and emotionless faces.

"I am here on business with Lord Sesshomaru, the situation is dire and is for his ears only." Mitsunobu spoke firmly as the guards didn't move for a moment but moved pushing the two massive doors open allowing Rika and Mitsunobu inside. Inside was nothing like what she would of expected from the Lord Sesshomaru she had met and was much more elegant than the estate her family owned.

Around the main castle there was different buildings, housing for guests, a dining building, training building, basically for every possible situation there was a building built for it. But what made the main housing different from the rest is that it was painted white with gray roofing. There was also endless acres of gardens filled with flowers, one garden in particular was gated and had a small koi pond inside. Lining along the main house was also cherry blossom trees, but they were not limited to just there as they lined the walking paths as well leading between buildings. Among the cherry blossom trees though, one in particular was larger than the rest and sat at the back of the estate.

Before she could allow her curiosity to get the best of her, a cold chill ran up her spine as her attention turned ahead noting the very Lord they had come here to see who didn't seem too pleased to see her again. The next thing she knew there was a white flash and he was gone, then a sudden clash of metal as Mitsunobu stood with his arm held out and sword up in the air. Above him, seeming to float there was Sesshomaru whose eyes were narrowed.

"Very good Sesshomaru, I see you still have that power of yours. Though you are still a bit stiff in your form." Mitsunobu spoke and smirked as Sesshomaru landed on his feet and moved putting his sword away and turned to the side.

"You're supposed to be dead. For you to come out of hiding is odd, what do you want?" Sesshomaru asked as Mitsunobu only laughed, putting his sword away and looked back at Rika making sure she was okay.

"Still the same as ever I see. Emotionless and to the point, so strange considering even your mother had some sense of humor." He said and shrugged a bit as he noted the Dog Demon Lord giving Rika behind him a death glare and laughed again. "I see you've also already met my descendant, that makes this much easier. Come, let us go inside and speak of these matters." He said waiting for Sesshomaru to comply with his request. Sesshomaru was not pleased, Rika could tell that much but for some reason complied anyways for a reason that was beyond her.

Once inside Sesshomaru led them to an office to where he and Mitsunobu could speak to one another. Rika sat down awkwardly, still not completely used to this kimono dress; how women sat and stood up in these things with such grace was beyond her comprehension. Mitsunobu sat next to her and across the table from them, sat Sesshomaru. Somewhere in the back of Rika's mind she found the idea that this Demon Lord was sitting very odd.

"I will not waste any time, as there is none to be wasted. As you already know this girl is in danger and she is also of my family, just from the future. I do not have the means to properly protect her from the bandits who seek her out." Mitsunobu said slowly as he closed his eyes briefly and opened them once more staring Sesshomaru down. "But you do have the means to do so." He said simply. Rika shifted a bit in an uncomfortable manner, noting the shift of the mood in the air from the typically warm and welcoming Mitsunobu she had known.

"No." Sesshomaru said flatly without hesitation and stood to his feet as if that was the end of the discussion. "My dim-wit of a half-brother came to me with the same suggestion and I turned him down as well, I am most certainly not going to become a babysitter or body guard to a ditz of a wench." Sesshomaru said flatly as he clearly expected both Mitsunobu and Rika to leave.

Mitsunobu did not move though, holding his arm out for Rika to stay put where she was. "I'm afraid Sesshomaru that you are involved in this as well, even if the enemy and you yourself don't realize it yet." He said simply and moved putting his hands in his sleeves and stared up at the young Demon Lord who didn't look that amused but sat down and would listen to what Mitsunobu had to say.

"Long before your mother and father went their separate ways and you were still growing, a bandit lord by the name of Jirou caused havoc for your father. He made attacks on this very castle in attempts to raid it." He said and waited before he continued just in case Sesshomaru had any quarrels with what said. Sesshomaru kept his emotionless face but what Mitsunobu said was indeed true, knowing he could not argue it he simply nodded.

"Jirou made a threat upon you and yours mothers life, he swore to your father that he would take everything he loved from him. Your father came to me since he knew that I was capable of dealing with things in secret and covering things up. Toga, was very much so in a bad spot. You see at the time he was already dealing with the dragons in the north, an enemy your family has had for generations." Mitsunobu said simply as Rika looked between the two seeing that Sesshomaru wasn't exactly pleased where the nature of this conversation was going which was making her nervous.

"So I did what he asked of me and covered it up as keeping the balance. But Jirou was no fool, he was a very clever man and he knew exactly why I was there and should I have failed to kill him your family and mine would of suffered a great deal for it. Thankfully I was successful. This caused a turn in tide and for things to move in favor of your father. Naturally, your father extended a favor for a favor. Should I ever come across a situation of dire need that I could call upon him for aid. Then my deed came back to bite me and me and my family were forced to go in to hiding, now your father is dead so the task falls to you." Mitsunobu spoke as Sesshomaru had seemed to reach the peak of his annoyance of the situation.

Rika stared at Sesshomaru as the demon lord turned his attention to her, narrowing her eyes causing a chill to run up her spine again and her skin seem to crawl with unease. '_I don't like this…_' She thought to herself watching him as she unconsciously leaned back as if to put more distance between herself and the table that stood as the only obstacle between her and him.

"And this favor entails me helping her." Sesshomaru said smoothly, though those smooth velvety words were laced with venom. Mitsunobu simply nodded and moved leaning against the table and sighed heavily.

"One of the bandits that seeks this girl, is the son of Jirou. The reason he seeks her is because he plans on using a ritual during the blood moon, he kills her and spills her blood and it brings his father back from the dead. Should Jirou come back to life, considering you are the son of Inu no Tashio, he will seek you out and carry out everything he swore back then. He will destroy everything you own and love without a doubt." Mitsunobu spoke as for a brief moment there seemed to be a glimmer of worry cross in his eyes. His mind instantly went to thoughts of his pack, Rin mostly considering she was his pup in his eyes.

"And yes…he would find out about Rin. And he would use that against you." Mitsunobu spoke as Sesshomaru almost growled at the words this man spoke. He hated that he couldn't argue it since it was true and had been done in the past. Sesshomaru tried to think of anything that would pull him out of this situation but he couldn't, the very fact that there was a debt to be paid left him tied down with little options.

"How did you discover all of this?" Sesshomaru asked with a rather suspicious tone, which was natural considering the fact that it seemed like Mitsunobu was keeping something from him at the moment.

"I might have gone in to hiding, but do you really think I am the type of person who would not keep some sort of tabs on the very people who wish to take not only my life but the life of my family as well?" Mitsunobu argued as Sesshomaru only looked to Mitsunobu and after a lingering silence the demon lord finally beckoned for someone called Jaken.

"Yes Sesshomaru-sama!" The small imp demon called hobbling in to the office and noticed the guests that sat before his lord. Jaken eyed Rika and Mitsunobu in an untrusting manner as he gazed towards Sesshomaru waiting for orders, orders to most likely throw these unwanted guests out.

"Take this…girl and have a room properly prepared in the guest quarters." Sesshomaru said flatly as the imp seemed rather surprised at this notion and looked to the girl who seemed just like another human girl. Finally the imp obeyed the orders and scolded at Rika to hurry along. Rika staggered to her feet, still unable to get used to the damn tightly bound skirt around her legs and wobbled a bit as she reached for the frame of the doorway for support until she could walk properly and followed Jaken out of the room.

"So now that she is gone, what is it you are keeping from me." Sesshomaru spoke bluntly as Mitsunobu seemed only slightly surprised at the fact Sesshomaru had caught on. Laughing he shook his head and looked back at the doorway Rika had just left from.

"Train her, if not you yourself, have someone train her. Get her accustomed to fighting and defending herself, do what you must. The girl is in a way rejecting the situation and hesitant to things around her. For that reason I will not remove the magic seal on her blood." Mitsunobu explained to Sesshomaru who raised an eyebrow towards the older man.

"Why? Training her as a human will simply make things much more complex. There is no way she can sustain in demon training." Sesshomaru said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"She can handle it the training, trust me. But I will not make her a demon when I feel in a way she resents all of this. She is a demon yes, but she was raised a human. She cannot wrap her mind around our way of life, let alone life in this era. Teach her to hone her senses, practicing control. That way when the time comes she can become a demon herself." Mitsunobu said as Sesshomaru once again seemed a bit confused at what the man was saying.

"I thought the seal requires you or whomever to remove it." Sesshomaru stated as Mitsunobu shook his head and rubbed his chin a bit as he looked down at the table.

"No…that magic seal is weakened dramatically. That is why some of her demonic power is able to show passed it. With the state it is in at the moment, think of it as an eggshell. The shell is made to protect what is inside, when ready what is inside can easily break free if it has the strength and willpower." Mitsunobu said as Sesshomaru seemed rather uninterested in the whole ordeal but simply nodded.

"Fine, I will keep her safe until I have paid back the debt that is owed to your family. After that, she is no longer of my concern. And should the girl cause havoc and put the lives of those around me at risk, I will kill her myself and burn her remains in acid." Sesshomaru said as Mitsunobu stood up and smiled reaching over patting the demon lord on the head.

"Good to hear!" He said simply and turned and walked out of the office and left the rest for Sesshomaru to figure out himself. Sesshomaru of course was left figuring out a lot on his own and figuring out how exactly he was going to deal with this girl who so suddenly became a thorn in his side. He himself was not going to train her he would have to leave that duty to someone else as he couldn't be bothered to play babysitter. He would just have locked up inside the estate, then once the threat had passed he could get rid of her.

Rika sat on a mat on the floor in the room she was showed to, she didn't touch anything she simply just sat there looking around as if someone might show up out of nowhere and try to kill her. Being here made her uneasy. Rika moved pushing off the cloak over her and stuck her legs out in front of her working the kimono skirt apart so she could free her legs. Sighing with relief that she could actually move her legs again she turned over and crawled on her hands and knees to a mirror and table that had combs, brushes, perfumes and makeup. She stood on her knees and examined over the items and opened a few of the small drawers on the table. '_Nothing here I could use as a weapon really if someone attacks me…_' She thought to herself and moved picking up a hair pin examining it.

The door to her room slid open with a bit of force as Rika jumped bumping to the mirror and table and fell over and peered at the doorway seeing Sesshomaru. Frantic, Rika reached out and grabbed the hair pin she had been looking at earlier and held the needle end out like a dagger. The demon lord didn't seem amused or faltered as he took a step inside. Rika bristled and moved pulling her wooden sandal off and chucked it at his head, "Don't you dare get any closer! You perverted demon! You're supposed to knock on the door of someone's bedroom before just walking in!" She yelled as she moved standing to her feet.

Sesshomaru caught the flying shoe heading for his face and looked at the paranoid girl. If he were one for showing expression he would most likely rolled his eyes. "This is my home, I will do and go where I please. You will not address me as 'demon', I am the Lord Sesshomaru the ruler of the West and this castle; you will address me accordingly." He said as his claws lit up a bright green as the sandal within his hand melted in to nothing. "If you try a stunt like that again, it will be more than just your shoe that will be melted." He threatened.

Rika never budged an inch and narrowed her eyes, despite the fact he just melted her shoe to nothing she slid off her other shoe and held it up ready to throw it while keeping her hair pin turned weapon held in front of her. "Then you are a classless demon lord! You want respect from me and you don't even respect the privacy of a woman!" She said as Sesshomaru seemed rather annoyed but decided he wouldn't cause himself more of a headache than he had to.

"Tomorrow you start training with someone. You will be timely and dress accordingly. You will not leave beyond the walls of this estate. Keep in mind you are only here until the threat on your life has passed, if your presence here causes harm to those around me I'll kill you myself." Sesshomaru said sternly and moved turning and walking away. Jaken, the small imp demon that had showed her to the room was there though waited for his respected lord to depart.

"Unthankful wench! Show more respect towards Sesshomaru-sama! You are lucky that he is even sheltering you here. You should not be resentful and hateful to the hand that feeds you!" Jaken scolded waving his two headed staff around at the woman. "Your meals will be brought to your room, when you are finished you are to leave the plate outside of your door. You will be assigned a lady-in-waiting who will be your shadow. She has been informed on where you can and cannot go, so don't try to go nosing around!" Jaken said and left after he had finished scolding Rika.

Just as Rika was about to sit down and finally relax a woman stepped in the doorway and smiled as she knelt down on the ground outside. "I am Maemi, it's a pleasure to meet you mi'lady. I will be your lady-in-waiting during your stay here." She said softly and patiently waited for Rika to respond. Rika sat there and examined the woman dressed in a junihitoe that was a mixture of different shades of blue and gray. The woman herself had long dark brown hair and two pointed dog ears on the top of her head, that stood a bit taller than the ones Inuyasha had, and bright golden eyes.

Rika finally registered that this woman was waiting for some sort of response as Rika shook her head, placing her hand to the top of her head. "Of course, forgive me…come in." Rika spoke as Maemi stood to her feet and slipped inside and closed the door. Without hesitation the woman walked over and started cleaning up the items knocked off the small glamour table and put the items back accordingly.

"Do not be frightened by Lord Sesshomaru-sama or Master Jaken-sama. They talk crueler than they actually are; you are in safe hands during your stay here. I hope you do not mind, Lord Sesshomaru-sama informed me of the situation that has brought you here." Maemi spoke as she finished cleaning up the things that Rika had knocked over in being startled by a certain demon lord suddenly coming in to her room.

"No, it is alright." Rika said slowly as she watched the woman and finally willed herself to relax and sit down. Maemi sat across from Rika and watched her closely and reached out placing her hand on top of Rika's, drawing her attention to her.

"Don't fret mi'lady. You are safe here, in time you will adjust to the situation and I will help you anyway I can." Maemi spoke as Rika nodded a bit to her as a response. The lady-in-waiting placed her sleeve over her mouth, giggling softly before shifting and turning to boxes that were piled in the corner of the room. "I will help you dress and prepare for whatever events you are involved in for the day and go with you when you bathe. I will also bring you your meals, so if you have a dish that you favor feel free to tell me and I will request it." Maemi said as she began to explain everything to Rika and of course the rules that Rika was expected to follow.

The following morning Rika was woken up rather early, earlier than she would have liked honestly. She was brought a typical breakfast to eat then was rushed off to take a bath where Maemi scrubbed her head to toe, then helped her dress in training clothes. Rika was ushered off by Maemi who walked at her side showing her where to go. Upon reaching a large building, a dojo she gathered from the looks of it. Feeling a light pat on her back she looked behind her seeing Maemi urge to go inside. Rika moved up the steps and went inside with Maemi close on her heels.

Once inside Maemi sat near the entrance with her hands folded in her lap while Rika went and sat at the center of the room. An older man walked out noticing his guests and glanced over to Maemi who only nodded. "So you are the girl I'm supposed to train." He said and groaned in annoyance and shook his head. "I was told not to take it easy on you, so I will not. So for you sake I hope you learn quickly so you will avoid being in pain." He said in warning as Rika seemed a bit taken back by what he said.

Nonetheless Rika started training and she quickly that the aikido and kendo classes she took in the future weren't going to do her any good against demons. A part of her already had figured that out considering the raw strength and speed demons had. Rika was trained well in to the evening, missing the typical dinner hour; but by the end of her training in just the first day she didn't even care about food at this point she just wanted to sleep.

She was covered in bruises and welts on her skin. Maemi had sat the entire time, wincing at every harsh blow made to Rika that the girl simply could not counter. Shuffling over, Maemi helped Rika to her feet and allowed the girl to use her for support as she walked her to the bathing house to clean her off. Rika knew that getting in the bath was going to cause pain for the open wounds, but she couldn't argue. Maemi cleaned Rika up and rubbed a aloe-like salve on the wounds before wrapping the girl up in bandages and getting her in to her sleeping clothes.

Once they returned to Rika's room, Maemi forced Rika to eat dinner to keep her strength up before the girl slept. Once Rika had fallen asleep Maemi left to return the dishes to the main house where she was greeted by Sesshomaru who was expecting some sort of report from her. "The girl hardly stood a chance against Kiyoto-sensei. She will surely break under the pressure from training every day. Is it necessary?" Maemi asked as Sesshomaru didn't seem all that surprised by the information given to him.

"It wasn't me who suggested such a thing. I was told to have her trained with no remorse and that she was capable of handling it." He said simply and turned walking away. Maemi simply shook her head and continued her path to the kitchen to return the dishes.

The following days weren't any easier on Rika, it was actually harder training wise but she had continued going as she was expected to. On the one day she had a day off she stayed in her room with the doors open, just relaxing to try and soothe her aching muscles. Maemi had ran off to do something and Rika just sat dozing in and out of sleep as she sat leaned against a wall. Before long Maemi had returned to Rika's room and dug around for clothes, "You must prepare mi'lady! You have a visitor!" Maemi spoke as Rika seemed a bit confused but slowly stood up and allowed Maemi to dress her in a comfortable kimono that had a loose skirt.

Rika was ushered along by Maemi and walked to the front of Sesshomaru's home where the demon lord himself was standing speaking to a strange man with a three-eyed ox. "Ah, is this the girl?" He asked as Sesshomaru said nothing and the strange old man demon waited until she was close and turned to his ox pulling off a large item that was wrapped up. Rika sat down in front of him slowly as the man placed it in front of her and untied the cloth, revealing a large spear-like weapon.

"I am Totosai, I am a demon swordsmith. A mysterious request was put in by someone who seemed to know you." He spoke as he sat back folding his arms and began to explain about the weapon. "The spear is heavy in weight and is seven feet long. I was told the user of this spear would be able to handle it, but to make it as if it would be used fluidly. For now the spear lacks power or ability other than transformation at the will of power, later on it can be altered to have an ability." He spoke and moved picking it up and held it out as it shrank in to something that looked more like a dagger. "These are the instructions I was given to tell you; when the time comes you will have to look inside yourself for strength at your lowest point and you will understand what to do." He said.

Rika listened as she examined the spear, the spear itself was all forged together instead of the spearhead being separated from the body of the spear and the head of the spear was simply shaped to a blade point. The entire spear itself seemed to be made of a magical jade metal of some sort, since upon closer inspection the jade green color seemed to swirl from inside as if some sort of power was sealed away inside. Fine black leather was bound around towards the top of the spear stopping just below the spearhead, where the jade color faded and turned in the purest of white silver Rika had ever seen. The spearhead itself had elegant and flowing designs carved in to it and coming from the bindings was a silken string the same color of the spear itself with a bright red feather attached to the end as decoration.

Now in its shrunken form Rika reached out taking it in to her hand and examined it closely before looking back at Totosai and nodded in thanks, "Thank you for this, but I cannot afford such an elegant designed weapon I'm afraid…" She said simply as the old man demon shook his head.

"The cost of the make was already covered as well." He explained as Rika seemed rather confused, there weren't many people who knew her but whoever it was the commissioned the weapon certainly seemed sure that at some point she would use it for whatever reason. Her thoughts lingered to the danger that she had nearly forgotten about since staying in the Western Territory. In three days' time, the blood moon would take its place in the sky, a day she was meant to be killed on.

While Rika was thankful that she hadn't had any issues, it seemed unlikely that whoever was after her would simply just give up and let it be. Those three bandits seemed rather determined to have her dead and on some table for some sort of ritual of theirs. Rika remembered Sesshomaru saying he was only keeping her here until the threat had passed or until she became a threat to those around him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt danger was imminent and that she'd most likely end up bringing danger down upon people around her in the days to come.


End file.
